Worker Missing After Carnival Cruise Ship Breaks Away

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A disabled Carnival Cruise ship broke free from its mooring in Mobile, Ala. Wednesday afternoon and U.S. Coast Guard officials were searching for a missing shipyard worker whose guard shack was blown into the water.

High winds in the Mobile area likely led to the ship becoming dislodged and the guard shack being blown into the Mobile River, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. The National Weather Service reported winds between 35 and 65 mph blowing through the area and authorities say the cruise ship becoming dislodged was unrelated to the shack blowing into the water.

Two shipyard workers fell into the water when high winds hit their guard shack, said Steve Huffman, spokesman for the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department.

"We recovered one person. He was taken to the hospital. He will be fine, the only thing he's suffering from is mild hypothermia," Huffman said. He added that land crews, a fire boat, a search dog, and a sheriff's flotilla with underwater search capabilities were on the scene searching for the second man.

Petty Ofc. Second Class Bill Colclough said the missing man worked for BAE Systems. He was unsure of where the shipyard worker was when the ship became dislodged.

Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen says the ship drifted and is resting against a cargo vessel.

"There are tug vessels that are in the process of stabilizing the triumph," Colclough said, adding it was unclear how far the ship drifted before coming to a rest.

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